Forests on land have birds that fly between the trees, but kelp forests have fishes that swim between the kelp. Some are brightly colored, while others are perfectly camouflaged. Some even sing!

Fish by island (PISCO data)

A figure showing the average mass of five kelp-forest fish species found in kelp forests, from four of the Northern Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Data source: PISCO; Figure credit: NOAA.

A figure showing the average mass of five kelp-forest fish species found in kelp forests, from four of the Northern Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Data source: PISCO; Figure credit: NOAA.

Click for Details Average biomass of five kelp forest fish species at 14 PISCO monitoring sites across four islands in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary from 2003—2016. Fish are counted by SCUBA divers swimming along transect lines. Fish density was averaged across all monitoring sites at each island, including sites located inside and outside of marine reserves and conservation areas, to examine course-scale trends by island. At a finer scale, fish density is responding differently inside and outside of some marine protected areas (MPAs) in CINMS. For more information, consult Figure App.F.13.15 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Fish by island (CINP data)

A figure showing the average density of five kelp-forest fish species across the Northern Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Figure credit: Channel Islands National Park.

A figure showing the average density of five kelp-forest fish species across the Northern Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Figure credit: Channel Islands National Park.

Click for Details Average density of five kelp forest fish species at Channel Islands National Park kelp forest monitoring sites at the five islands in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Fish density was averaged across all monitoring sites at each island, including sites located inside and outside of marine reserves and conservation areas, to examine course-scale trends by island. At a finer scale, fish density is responding differently inside and outside of some marine protected areas (MPAs) in CINMS. For more information, consult Figure App.F.13.16 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Fish island vs. mainland (SBC-LTER data)

A figure showing a comparison of the average density of five kelp-forest fish species from two of the Northern Channel Islands to mainland sites from 2000 to 2015. Data source: SBC LTER; Figure credit: R. Freedman/NOAA.

A figure showing a comparison of the average density of five kelp-forest fish species from two of the Northern Channel Islands to mainland sites from 2000 to 2015. Data source: SBC LTER; Figure credit: R. Freedman/NOAA.

Click for Details Mean (+/- SE) density of five kelp forest fish species at two island (dark blue) and nine mainland (light blue) sites monitored by the Santa Barbara Channel Long-term Ecological Research (SBC LTER) program. For more information, consult Figure App.F.13.17 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) (PISCO data)

A figure showing the number of times giant sea bass were present at sampling sites across the Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Data source: PISCO; Figure credit: R. Freedman/NOAA.

A figure showing the number of times giant sea bass were present at sampling sites across the Channel Islands from 2003 to 2016. Data source: PISCO; Figure credit: R. Freedman/NOAA.

Click for Details Frequency of occurrence of giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) at 14 PISCO monitoring sites in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary from 2003—2016. Note that this species is so rare that there are too few observations to detect a trend, if one exists, but it is notable that this species has not been sighted during surveys since 2011. For more information, consult Figure App.F.13.14 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.